Platero's Lessons of Life and Love
by TheBookOnTheBedstand
Summary: Based on Juan Ramon Jimenez' "My Donkey and I". Platero is not the typical donkey that we all know. He's different. Wonderfully so. Here are some of the lessons he learned on his journeys.


Platero was a small, silver donkey with immaculate fur. He was very soft to the touch, as if he was made of cotton. But his eyes were hard, like two black crystals. One day, as he was wandering along a meadow, after his owner, Agustino let him loose, he nudged and caressed the flowers scattered around while his thoughts drifted to Agustino and how they developed an unusual co-dependent relationship. They've gone through a lot together. Agustino understood that Platero was both soft and hard at the same time. Soft on the outside but hard on the inside; many people even said that he was like steel. And Platero in turn, understood that Agustino grew attached to him and they needed each other. It showed even in his affectionate tone whenever he called Platero. And Platero returned the affection. That relationship was developed through everything they went through together.

One time was when fireworks lit the sky one September night. At first they were quite mild with only dull, short explosions but as the minutes passed, they became bigger and grander and with each one, Platero would flinch as if the explosions were right beside him. Platero's fear intensified with every passing second and he looked at Agustino with terrified eyes. As the climax came, he was so frightened and he felt like he was the one that was next in line to burst that he ran and galloped uncontrollably until he managed to calm himself down. When he slowly came to a stop, Agustino was at his side in a flash and stroked him, telling him that everything was going to be fine. At that moment, both their hearts grew. Agustino, thinking Platero's fit was endearing and made his protective side flare up and Platero, being thankful for Agustino's assurances.

Now, besides Agustino, Platero had another dear friend. One of his own kind – Miguelito. Miguelito was a smaller and frailer donkey than Platero and his fur, dirty and unkempt. Miguelito was a walking cliché. He fell into the clueless donkey stereotype. But Platero was so full of love and he made his and Miguelito's relationship work. He believed that everybody deserved love. And he thought that Miguelito needed it just a tad bit more than others. That's why he got Miguelito out of every predicament he got caught in. Like the time when Platero and Agustino found Miguelito and his owner, Carmela stuck in the mud beside the creek after a particularly strong rainfall. With a little prodding from Agustino, he went to pull the cart out of the mud since Miguelito couldn't. After the whole debacle, Platero and Miguelito went through the routine that they established after every time Platero got the latter out of trouble. Miguelito approached Platero to say, "Thank you." And as usual, Platero would respond with his never failing, "You're welcome. Anytime."

Most of the time, Platero was in the company of either Agustino or Miguelito but sometimes, there were occasions when he wasn't. Like what time when he was with Carmela and her beagle, Custodio. They were strolling through a small field near the town square when they heard the beating of drums in the distance. Carmela identified the source and pulled Custodio and Platero towards the town square where they discovered a small crowd of mostly children gathered around what seemed to be a peep-show man. Carmela squealed and joined the other children, pulling a penny out of her pocket as the peep-show man called out the scenario that would be displayed. Platero, having never seen a peep-show before, wanted in on all the fuss. So he trotted closer to the children and squeezed his head in between twins that giggled at the sensation of his soft fur against their cheeks. The peep-show man noticed Platero in the crowd and with good humor asked him if he had a penny. And the empty-handed children laughed. Not to spite him, though. That made Platero smile a little to himself. It was nice, he thought, when people didn't treat him like a mindless tool used to lug heavy objects around. It was nice that he wasn't shooed away. It made him appreciate humanity. Some of the kids even started stroking his fur murmuring, "Fluffy." Or "So soft." One child even told her companion, a man who was possibly her father, "Look! He's so beautiful. Can we keep him?" I made his insides feel fuzzy, like the way he thought only Agustino could make him feel since they had a special bond. And at that moment he realized that love might just be the biggest thing in his world. It makes everything brighter. It makes fear go away. It makes friendships grow stronger. It pushes everyone to break free of the limits others put on them. Platero wasn't your average donkey but that was fine. Perfectly fine indeed.


End file.
